In this course we will explore the religion and culture of Judaism in the making, from the end of the biblical period to the rise of
Christianity and rabbinic Judaism. The course will cover the major beliefs, practices, religious institutions and kinds of
literature which originated during this formative age, considering among other topics: the decline of the Temple and the rise of the
synagogue; the origins of the messiah idea, apocalypticism, angels and the afterlife; the development of Jewish life outside Israel
(the diaspora); the formation of the biblical canon; Christianity's split from Judaism, and the reshaping of Judaism by the early
rabbis.
To explore these issues we will examine a variety of texts composed in this period: the so-called apocrypha and pseudepigrapha,
Jewish Hellenistic authors (Josephus, Philo), the Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament, early rabbinic texts, among other ancient
sources. No prerequisites though R210/220 can be helpful.